According to the digital payments poll conducted by Mastercard India, Bengaluru is leading in contactless transactions, and penetration of contactless transactions is the highest in the lowest ticket size which helps India in rapid strides in bridging the digital payments divide.
A significant growth in adoption of contactless payments, both globally and in India where consumers are aware of the fact that contactless technology and digital payments can ease some of the tension by reducing a measure of daily risk as this technology also empowers safe and secure way to make and receive payments. the top 5 cities in contactless transactions are Bengaluru at 16%, Delhi and NCR at 12%, Chennai at 7%, and Mumbai at 6% which makes a 19% increase in the actual contactless cards issued in Q1 2020 over Q4 2019.
South region dominates the maximum number of contactless transactions where Bengaluru has the highest number of contactless transactions more than twice of Hyderabad. Penetration of contactless transactions is the highest in the lowest ticket size as below $10 seems to be the sweet spot for contactless transactions in India and this trend bodes well for mass adoption. it is being driven by 4 categories i.e. food stores, restaurants, fuel, and drug stores dominating the contactless ecosystem. where restaurants, food stores, gas stations, and bars are the only category with 1 million + transactions in each month of Q1 2020.
The poll revealed that Indian consumers showed an increase in awareness and positive shift towards contactless payments where over 54% of the respondents know how to use a contactless card on a POS machine, 53% of the respondents knows that consumers don’t get charged multiple times if the contactless card is tapped more than once. However, 30% did not know the need for more awareness on the safety of contactless payments. 74% of the respondents, a high number, said they will continue to make purchases through contactless mode or via digitally in the coming times, 51% of the respondents know that contactless card remains in the hand of the customer while making a transaction, 49% of the voters knows that POS machine with a WIFI symbol will allow them to use a contactless card to make a payment.
